Bakers vs Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers: $37K vs $35K Median Pay

Bakers vs Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers: what changes?

Consider Bakers if you want to mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods. Consider Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers if you would rather operate or tend washing or dry-cleaning machines to wash or dry-clean industrial or household articles, such as cloth garments, suede, leather, furs, blankets, draperies, linens, rugs, and carpets. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Bakers and Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Bakers

National median pay (2025): $37,160
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 36,500

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Bakers brief

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

National median pay (2025): $34,890
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 28,200

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Bakers has the edge on projected growth

Bakers is at 5.5% projected growth, compared with 4.3% projected growth for Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers.

Bakers has the edge on median pay

Bakers is at $37,160, compared with $34,890 for Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers.

Bakers has the edge on annual openings

Bakers is at 36,500 annual openings, compared with 28,200 annual openings for Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers.

58.2/ 100

Bakers

53.7/ 100

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence